The authors claim that a careful examination of robotics science and technology from its origins in the 1950s to its current status reveals that such progress, albeit very important, profitable, and with a strong impact on society, was basically the "side activities" to the ever-existing and continuous desire of mankind to build and realize humanoid robots, artificial men equipped uith proper inte...
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The modularity of the electronic guidance systems of the SIAMO wheelchair allows for user-specific adaptability based on environment and degree of handicap. The overall system includes an innovative user-machine interface, a complete sensory subsystem (ultrasonic, infrared, vision, etc), and an advanced strategy of control and navigation. This allows different alternatives for guidance and guarant...
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The Bremen autonomous wheelchair implements obstacle avoidance plus driving and routing assistance in a shared-control system. This article shows how the tasks of reliably detecting obstacles in the environment and safely avoiding these obstructions are solved
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The semiautonomous robotic system “FRIEND” consists of an electric wheelchair with the robot arm MANUS. Both devices are controlled by a computer. The user interface consists of a flat screen and a speech interface. The system is for use by persons with upper limb impairments as well as disability of the legs. FRIEND's hardware and software are described. The current state of developme...
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Describes the robotic wheelchair MAid (Mobility Aid for Elderly and Disabled People). MAid's task is to support and transport people with limited motion skills. It is based on a commercial wheelchair that has been equipped with an intelligent control and navigation system. Conversations with disabled and elderly people and with their physicians indicate that the automatic functions desired in a ro...
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Aims & Scope

IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine is a unique technology publication which is peer-reviewed, readable and substantive. The Magazine is a forum for articles which fall between the academic and theoretical orientation of scholarly journals and vendor sponsored trade publications.